Lynx Book 3: A Callie Torres Story

1

Jada stared at her computer screen, her finger hovering over her mouse above the button that would start her stream. It was going to be a quick stream today. She was going to announce her retirement to her community.

Taking a deep breath, Jada clicked the mouse and the stream was started. The scene was switched, so viewers that immediately tuned in weren't able to see her.

The few minutes between the start of the stream and the time Jada decided to make her announcement felt like days. She wrote so many drafts of what she would say, but none of them felt right. There were so many chats popping up from viewers who were curious and trying to guess what Jada would say.

She took a sip of water to calm her out of control heartbeat. Here went nothing.

Jada clicked to switch her stream scene and soon she was watching the animation that transitioned between scenes. And suddenly, she was staring at herself on the monitor screen.

"Hey everybody," she began, her eyes automatically shifting to the fast moving chat box. "Thank you all for being here so unexpectedly."

"I'm just going to come right out and say it," Jada continued before taking a deep breath. Here it was. "I have decided to retire from content creation and competitive gaming."

"These last three years have been amazing. I've done things I never would've thought to be possible. I have met so many great people that I created lifelong memories with."

"Right now, I'm at the point of my life where I want to be there for my family more. Streaming, creating videos, and playing in tournaments took a lot of time. My wife is a world renowned surgeon, who's in charge of an entire hospital. Without her, my career wouldn't of been possible."

"There were days and even weeks where we would be on opposite schedules. We both barely got to see each other and our daughter. Our daughter is going to be starting preschool in the fall, and I want to be all in on it."

"For me, I feel like it's a good time to step away from my career, and to focus more on my family. While playing freaking video games for a living was cool as hell, it took a lot of my time and that time was missed with my wife and daughter."

Jada took a deep breath and began to look over chat. To her surprise, nearly all of the comments were in support of her decision. That was interesting. She hadn't expected it to go over this easily.

"I want to thank my wife," Jada began again. "She pushed me and gave me the confidence I needed to pursue this career. When we first met, I was a simple graphic designer. I loved video games and always wanted to play them, and she convinced me to give streaming a try. She's been by my side the entire time and has been the biggest supporter I could ever ask for. I can't put into words how thankful I am for her and everything she's done for me. I love you, Callie, and thank you for everything."

"I want to thank my mom," Jada continued. "I don't know what I'd do without her. She's been a heck of a grandma and she volunteered so much of her time to take care of my daughter. She's supported me through my entire softball career, and now into my professional career. I couldn't ask for a better mom. Thank you, mom, and I love you."

"I want to thank my entire team. My editor, Anna, and my mods on Twitch and Discord. The entire team at Oni Studios, Ali and Daniela, for making me a part of the team. My manager, my brand manager, and my entire staff that made everything possible from behind the scenes. I can't thank you guys enough."

"Thank you to the gaming community. Epic Games, for putting me in the game of Fortnite. My sponsors and partners. The other streamers I've had the pleasure of meeting and their communities"

"And, thank you, to you, my fans," Jada said softly, tears threatening to spill. "My subscribers, my followers, my viewers, all of you have played a role in helping me get to the top. I can't thank you all enough for your support. My community is truly the greatest, and I want to thank you all, from the bottom of my heart for making this possible."

Jada took a moment to gently wipe a few stray tears off her cheek. "My plan is to finish my schedule for the rest of the week. I have a few fun streams planned, and I know you guys will have a lot of fun. You're going to see a lot of YouTube videos going up this week. I'm going to post everything that's been recorded and a few more that were planned for this week. And after this week, that will be it."

"I'm also still planning on streaming occasionally. I love doing this and I still want to play and create content for you guys. But it will only be in the form of streams that will happen only a few times a month. My YouTube channel won't be posting anything after this week and I'll still be very active on social media."

Callie stopped outside Jada's office door and watched her wife announcing her retirement to her chat through the glass door. Slowly twisting the handle, Callie opened the door and quietly entered.

She stuffed her phone in her scrubs pocket, not needing to watch the stream anymore since she was seeing it in person. Callie was relieved that she hadn't been too late. The bouquet of flowers she was currently holding in her left hand weren't ready at the store when she ordered them.

Callie also didn't have much time before she was needed back at work. But, being her for Jada, in person, was something she needed to do and everything at work could wait.

"And yeah, thank you all for everything," Jada said. "It's been a hell of a ride."

Callie came forward, being careful not to startle Jada. Jada had quickly noticed Callie's presence out of the corner of her eye and quickly lit up in a huge smile.

"Hi baby!"

"Hey," Callie said softly, making her way to Jada and now visible to the stream.

"I got you something," she said, pulling the beautiful bouquet of flowers around from behind her back. "Congratulations on an amazing career babe," Callie told her, squatting down beside the chair.

A breathily "Callie," escaped Jada's lips. And before she could try to warn her wife about the camera, her face was being held in Callie's hands, and she was pressing an intimate kiss to Callie's lips.

Jada couldn't care less that her chat could see her kissing Callie. This woman, her wife, was one of the reasons she wanted to end her career early. Callie was her life, and she wanted to be there in every possible way for her.

Surprise! Early update today! I hope you all enjoy!